Free Remember Love by Jessica Nelson

house of
shadows look like a warm place.
    She looked away
from the offensive illusion and yawned. Steve had fled before the police pulled
up. She’d spent the better part of the night making a statement and pressing
charges. After everyone left, she tossed and turned on the couch, finally dozing
off around dawn.
    The knocking came
again, hard and sharp against the door. If Steve stood on the other side of
that door, he better back up. Morning made her a whole lot braver.
    Swooping the bat up
from the floor, she relished the feel of the cold metal in her hands. Let him
try to mess with them today.
    It wasn’t just
morning that made her brave. It was today. October 16. Not a good day to
intimidate an angry and bitter woman.
    Thus bolstered,
she looked through the peephole.
    And groaned.
    "You,"
she sputtered, flinging the door open. Slick, clean shaven, and shrewd, Alec’s
eyes beheld Katrina in all her morning splendor, and she flushed. The door
should’ve stayed shut.
    "You going
to hit me with that?" He nodded at the bat clutched against her chest.
    With a twist of
her lips, she set it against the wall.
    "You always
did freshen up well in the morning." Wearing a crooked grin, Alec pushed
past her into the living room. She shut the door, a little unnerved by his
presence. Despite their parting yesterday afternoon, he didn’t look angry.
    He studied her living
room with the same intensity he’d shown in Kat’s Korner. Almost caressing the
frames on the walls yet not allowing his fingers to make contact. He looked at
her, his eyes dark with some unnamed emotion. The stare scared her a little.
And yet, a tiny thrill raced through her like a shot of caffeine to the
bloodstream.
    She rubbed her
face and smoothed her hair. It figured she’d look like a wreck.
    "You
could’ve called." She walked into the kitchen, aware his presence was
doing something strange to her emotions. The thrum of excitement humming
through her veins made her wary. Attraction was better ignored. It led to complications.
And so she kept her distance, finding a spot near the fridge to huddle.
    "Thought I’d
drop this by in person. You left it in the car the other night." He
plopped the black purse she’d carried to the reunion on the kitchen counter.
    "You’re just
now returning it?"
    The smile left
his face. "Did you expect me to come see you right after you confessed to
hiding my son from me?"
    "No. I’m
sorry." Flushing again, she moved away from the fridge and plucked at the purse.
"Thank you for bringing it by. I’d thought I left it at the restaurant."
    Alec’s gaze
dropped to her fiddling fingers. "Do you always drive without a license or
wallet?"
    "I keep my
license in my car so it doesn’t get lost. That isn’t my everyday purse but
thank you for bringing it back." She picked it up and held it in front of
her like a shield. His gaze lifted to her face. Her hair must be sticking out
in a dozen directions. Like a rat’s nest. She grimaced.
    "If you’d
like to stay a few minutes, I’ll be right out." And then she’d give him
Joey’s box of letters, pictures and videos so he could leave for good.
    "Mind if I
grab some coffee?"
    "Not at all."
If he could find some. But she didn’t stay to find out if he did.
    She escaped into
the hallway, leaving Alec to clink around her kitchen. She passed the closed
bedroom doors and sighed. Not a peep could be heard. That was good. Sharon and
the kids needed rest.
    Putting on makeup
was a temptation that, in the end, Katrina resisted. Alec had shown up at her
door without calling. What did it matter if she looked ugly to him? It wasn’t
as if she was still a teenager, head over heels in love with Manatee Bay’s wild
child. And they had nothing in common anymore.
    Except Joey.
    She banished the
thought and finished pulling her hair into a ponytail before heading to the
kitchen. Alec stood near the fridge holding one of her picture frames. His face
twisted oddly, a pained grimace. He looked up when